Honestly... Nothing. Now are there things I wish I had done? Yes. Like running CAT6 instead of CAT5e, but I can do that later. I wish I had run another HDMI, but I can do that later too. Cosmetically... I think its perfect.

Ok, there is just one thing... The star mural, but Jeff from NightSkyMurals will be coming to perfect that. Man I can't wait.

Now today, I will be reconfiguring my network. Moving the modem, router and HDHomerun into the theater room. I also bought a network switch. As soon as I build my stage, and get the TV credenza's, there is going to be a lot of clutter. But I know it will only be temporary. I will be stopping at Ikea on the way home from San Diego during spring break to pick up the furniture.

So as far as changing things... It's basically stuff that hasn't been done yet.

I cant wait to see the stars but I M concerned about how the hidden stars will look whehn the lights are on...will you be able to detect them? Are the stars a higher gloss finish than the day sky finish.

I cant wait to see the stars but I M concerned about how the hidden stars will look whehn the lights are on...will you be able to detect them? Are the stars a higher gloss finish than the day sky finish.

No, the stars are undetectable in normal light. Unless you are "really" looking for them.

The best way I can really discribe it is to visit NightSkyMurals website... Or have a look here (this is the look I'm going for)...

I'm not sure. Jeff over at NightSkyMurals painted the mural. I don't think he has a build thread in the AVSForum. If you google NightSkyMurals, there is a YouTube interview with Jeff and the theater owner. They dont really talk about the theater so much as they do the ceiling and black lights.

That's true.... he doesn't have a thread on here. I told him about it though, and he was going to check it out, but don't know if he ever did.

And, just a quick addition to the answer you have about the stars visibility/invisibility... the stars are almost impossible to see on a lighter surface, even one that is starting to get into the darker shades. But, when the paint gets to be fairly dark then you will usually see the larger constellation stars. But, on the right surface, even that looks good. Let's say you have a black or navy blue painted ceiling... then you would see things like the Big and Little Dippers, Orion, Leo and so on. Plus, there might be a few other smaller stars that show up, but out of thousands of stars... you would only see a handful.

The paint has a light sheen to it, but so little paint is used that, as has been mentioned, you really would have to look for it to notice it. I can probably have a matte medium mixed up by a friend of mine who is a faux painter... but it's never been a problem yet.

Sorry to butt in here... but I just wanted try to see if I could help out. I am super excited to get out there to help you finish that room. I set up another job in Ohio today... so my east coast trip is looking good (I know that Ohio isn't on the east coast, but I make stops along the way). I now just need to get another job or two in California and I will be on my way.

Hope this helps!

Jeff

Quote:

Originally Posted by xzener

I'm not sure. Jeff over at NightSkyMurals painted the mural. I don't think he has a build thread in the AVSForum. If you google NightSkyMurals, there is a YouTube interview with Jeff and the theater owner. They dont really talk about the theater so much as they do the ceiling and black lights.

Eventually, I will be adding an area rug and acoustic treatments... This room needs it... BAD!!

The 2 walls near the screen will have movie poster acoustic panels, the two surround speakers will have acoustically transparent movie posters and 2 acoustic panels beside the double doors. That should help out a great deal with the echo...echo...echo.

Who took this photo?? Was it taken using "Time-Lapse"?? I can't seem to take a picture with my camera showing off the stars like that. I'm guessing its more likely due to the fact that I don't have the bright black lights right now. I only have an 18 incher... Not nearly enough wattage to show these things off. I hope you have a much better camera, so when the ceiling is done, we can get some high quality shots.

The picture you are asking about was taken by a friend of the homeowner, who is a movie producer/director. He would visit the homeowner and they'd watch movies. He was fascinated by the night sky mural and on one trip to visit his friend... he took some of his high-end equipment with him to get some pictures. These are the first really good pictures that I've had of the ceiling without any need for enhancing the stars. I'd had magazine photographers try to get pictures and then HGTV, when they did the spot for their network had a hard time capturing the murals... so they had to film with a black light on, which really isn't the same as seeing it in the dark. But, what can you do?

Anyway, cameras have come a long way.... and I don't have a good one. I have put out some ads offering to trade a mural for a nice camera, but I've only had people contact me with "film" cameras. So, I think, that unless someone comes through soon, we may not be able to get a good shot of your ceiling.

I do know, though, that a few people from AVS that I've painted for have had nice cameras and have gotten some good shots (that I'm sure you've seen on the Night Sky thread). I am so happy that they were able to get those shots! I'm working on getting a good camera... but we'll see if I can before I get to you.

It really shouldn't be too complicated to get the picture with a low-end DSLR camera. Take one time-lapse exposure in a dark room with only the star field, and then a "regular" exposure of the rest of the room, and composite those together in a photo editor. That's probably how they got the really good one above.

xzener,
Your room looks great. I am going to try to reproduce your crown, only my supports will be triangles since the bottom of the soffit doesn't stick out. Do you think that would work? Should I attach the supports to the crown before I hang it or to the wall first?

Do you have any of the blue ceiling color left? If so you could paint that HVAC register and it will disappear. (just a suggestion not a criticism)

It really shouldn't be too complicated to get the picture with a low-end DSLR camera. Take one time-lapse exposure in a dark room with only the star field, and then a "regular" exposure of the rest of the room, and composite those together in a photo editor. That's probably how they got the really good one above.

Video would be much, much harder.

I never thought of that... I would like to take pictures, unfortunatly I don't even have a low-end DSLR.

Quote:

Originally Posted by price3

xzener,
Your room looks great. I am going to try to reproduce your crown, only my supports will be triangles since the bottom of the soffit doesn't stick out. Do you think that would work? Should I attach the supports to the crown before I hang it or to the wall first?

Do you have any of the blue ceiling color left? If so you could paint that HVAC register and it will disappear. (just a suggestion not a criticism)

Thanks for the compliments.

Price3,

You should throw up a couple example pictures. That will help us (other forum members) help you with your design.

Yes, I do have some paint left. Your not the only one who has recommended that I paint the HVAC register... I will be painting it eventually.

I never thought of that... I would like to take pictures, unfortunatly I don't even have a low-end DSLR.

Does your camera have a manual mode? If you can control the shutter speed (and keep it open for a LONG time), you can probably do it. You need a little technical expertise to know how to set your camera up for the proper exposure for both photos to get the best results, but given that we have complete light control and are taking images of something very dim, I would take a zero light photo of the room for a second or two, and see how the stars show up. If that works well, bring the lights up some and take a second, much shorter shot. Also, auto-exposure-bracketing might give better results than a single exposure.

You may want to also take a third photo to composite in a screen shot, for the best results.

If you take them all from a tripod, it'll be trivial to stitch them together later.

The basic problem is that the human eye can perceive a much greater range than a camera can, so we have to simulate that to make a photograph more closely match what we can perceive, and we do that by merging multiple photographs depicting different ranges. It's typically called HDR ("High Dynamic Range"); here's a gallery with a bunch of great shots: http://www.2expertsdesign.com/inspir...dr-photography Some of those are a little over-processed, but they more accurately represent what the human eye sees, rather than the photos you would normally see come out of a pocket camera in those situations (which part of would either be dramatically under-exposed, or dramatically over-exposed).

Sorry for crapping up your thread with this stuff, but... it seemed relevant to the current discussion. I like your theater quite a bit; my future theater space is a bit larger, but smaller than I'd like, and you've given me some ideas of what can still be accomplished in a snugger space.

Wow.. and I thought it would be easy to just get a good camera and set the shutter to stay open longer. But, that doesn't discourage me in the slightest. I will just learn some basic stuff... and then a little more down the road.

BTW... I am checking into a couple of nice (for me) camera's hoping that one of the people will trade a mural for it, but if not I will buy one of them if they still have them. Hopefully I will have it before I head out there to my old stomping grounds.

I need my Cali fix. It seems that every year at this time of the year... my entire body starts to crave the redwoods. Or, even driving up and down I-5 or 99 and spelling the farming and oil field smells. Can't wait.

I like the updated choice of Ikea items, I am very happy with my Ikea bookcase that I used as my projector shelf in the back of my room. are you going to put all your av equipment in the credenza? I really like how the screen is framed by the furniture.

I like the updated choice of Ikea items, I am very happy with my Ikea bookcase that I used as my projector shelf in the back of my room. are you going to put all your av equipment in the credenza? I really like how the screen is framed by the furniture.

Yes, it will be framed very similar to the drawing. I'll have 1/4" on either side of the screen going by the credenza's measurements. I haven't measured the bookcases, but it should be close. I will be doing all the math soon, have to get ready to design my stage. The furnature is less than $400... Perfect for my price range. Might be picking it up over spring break, as long as the Federal Government Budget crap doesn't screw up my plans.

After I design my stage, I'll try and post up a new pic to throw it all together. All of the AV equipment will be inside the credenza, may have to modify Ikea's design, we'll see.

That one little purchase (or maybe not so little) is going to make your mural pop out. You should be able to see most of the mural, too, while you are watching a movie. But, the best part is once the movie is over and you charge up the stars for a few minutes and then turn out those 8- 4' lights... you are going to be transported far, far away from that room of yours. You will be in the middle of some very remote location, or out on a blacked out navy ship at sea.

You will not be sorry for getting those lights.

Jeff

Quote:

Originally Posted by xzener

Just ordered eight, four foot black lights to be installed in my soffit. Won't be long before my day/night sky mural is complete and ready for pictures. Will keep you guys posted.

I think you should give your original bookshelf idea a try. I think it works well in a more modern looking room like yours especially with the wood floor. The only way I think it would look cheap is if you got funky ones from Walmart and they were thin and uneven, but the IKEA stuff is pretty hefty. You could always use them in another room if you don't end up liking them. Although I think your Ikea trip will be like mine since I think you said you are also in the central valley, I looked at the distances and was basically right in the middle of IKEA's in Burbank, E. Palo Alto, Emeryville, or Sacramento. I ended up borrowing a friends truck and going to E. Palo Alto as they had what I wanted for sure in stock and spent about $90.00 in gas, but I got what I wanted since ikea wanted like $300.00 to ship the item!!!!

I honestly don't have the nick-nacks/games/movies to fill so many shelves. Like cybrsage said, keeping things neat and tidy is my main concern. I can always revert back to that idea. But I think my wifes idea of curtains (she used to work at a fabric store making curtains) will be very nice looking.

But until then (still have to build the stage) the black screen wall works very well.